4th Annual MFAH Houston Turkish Film Festival: 125 Years Memory

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the 4th Annual MFAH Turkish Film Festival September 29 through October 2. The 4th Houston Turkish Film Festival showcases new films that have entertained and intrigued audiences worldwide.

Special guests include Kaan Müjdeci, director of Sivas, a film about an Anatolian boy and his dog; and Tolga Karaçelik, director of Ivy, a character study about men stranded at sea. Anyone who knows Istanbul will be charmed by another festival selection, The Cats of Istanbul.

125 Years Memory
Director Mitsutoshi Tanaka
Released 2015
Language in Japanese and Turkish with English subtitles
Country Turkey/Japan
Running Time 122 minutes
Format DCP, Color
Website http://125yearsmemory.com/

Introduced by Ferhat Alkan, consul general of Turkey; and Tetsuro Amano, consul general of Japan.

This moving and dramatic historical epic is based on events that happened a century apart.

In 1890 the Ottoman frigate Ertugrul, on its way home after paying a courtesy visit to the emperor of Japan, was driven aground in a typhoon and wrecked in the Pacific Ocean. Hearing the alarm bell that warned of a vessel in distress, local villagers provided assistance, saving 69 from a crew of 600.

The film flashes forward to 1985, during the Iran–Iraq War, when the evacuation of Japanese citizens in Tehran was aided by the actions of officials at the Turkish Embassy who arranged for a safe departure during the dangerous bombing raids.

These two humanitarian initiatives have indelibly linked Turkey and Japan.

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ertugrul_1890